← Directory

Tor Snowflake Proxy

Snowflake is a system to defeat internet censorship.

  • Network Services
  • Security
  • Tools & Utilities
Snowflake is a system to defeat internet censorship. People who are censored can use Snowflake to access the internet. Their connection goes through Snowflake proxies, which are run by volunteers. If your internet access is not censored, you should consider running a Snowflake proxy to help users in censored networks. There is no need to worry about which websites people are accessing through your proxy. Their visible browsing IP address will match their Tor exit node, not yours.

Platform availability

Available on 2 of 9 platforms

  • Unraid (not listed)
  • TrueNAS (not listed)
  • Umbrel
  • ZimaOS (not listed)
  • Proxmox
  • Helm (not listed)
  • Mac (not listed)
  • Windows (not listed)
  • Linux (not listed)

Health score?A 0-100 score computed nightly from four factors: maintained (40%: recent commits and steady activity), popular (25%: GitHub stars, log scale), easy to install (20%: platforms, install notes, setup guides, Docker image) and light to run (15%: minimum RAM, ARM support). When the source code has been checked, a fifth factor, security check (20%: automated scan for committed secrets, unsafe desktop-app settings, known-vulnerable dependencies and project hygiene; any serious finding caps it at 20), is added. Factors without data are left out and the rest are rescaled.

68/100 Good

Maintained
100last commit 15 days ago
Popular
209 GitHub stars
Easy to install
452 install platforms, install notes, Docker image
Light to run
95512 MB minimum RAM, runs on ARM

Availability: platform listings confirmed today

GitHub stars
9
Open issues
0
Last commit
2026-10-06
Activity
steady

Checked 13 days ago - source: GitHub (syphyr/snowflake)

Resources & Compatibility

Minimum requirements: 512 MB RAM, 200 MB disk. ARM (e.g. Raspberry Pi) is supported.

Checked 23 days ago - source: Docker Hub image tags and published docs

First-install notes

  • Check the CMETHOD local proxy line A CMETHOD line tells Tor which local SOCKS5 proxy to use (SOCKS5 is a common local proxy protocol), so put in the exact host and port, like 127.0.0.1:19999. Use 127.0.0.1 only if the helper runs on the same machine; if it runs in another container (a separate app box), use that container's hostname or IP, otherwise Tor will not reach it. source
  • Confirm the helper starts A SMETHOD message means the extra proxy helper (a pluggable transport) has started and is using the listed host and port; if it never appears or shows an error, check that helper's command and port before using the proxy, because Tor will not pass traffic without it. source
  • Confirm the helper starts A SMETHOD message means the extra proxy helper (a pluggable transport) has started and is using the listed host and port; if it never appears or shows an error, check that helper's command and port before using the proxy, because Tor will not pass traffic without it. source

Fetched 13 days ago - each note links to its source

Alternatives (12)

  • Brave - The Brave browser(https://brave.com/) is a fast, private and secure web browser for PC, Mac and mobile.
  • Brave Origin - Brave Origin is a self-hosted Brave browser container you can open in a web browser over HTTPS.
  • Chromium - Chromium is a LinuxServer.io Docker container that packages the open-source Chromium browser for headless automation, web scraping, and bro…
  • Ecosia Browser - Ecosia Browser is the newest product from Ecosia an eco-friendly, fast, ad-free browsing experience that supports reforestation.
  • Fifo - Fifo is a fast, free, and secure web browser designed to respect your privacy.
  • Google Chrome - Web browser built on an open-source platform featuring multiple account support, integrated password manager, dark mode, real-time translat…
  • Helium Browser - Chromium-based browser with preinstalled open-source blockers, default anti-tracking features, no data collection, full extension support,…
  • I2P - I2P (Invisible Internet Protocol) is a universal anonymous network layer.
  • InviZible Pro - InviZible Pro uses DNSCrypt Protocol, Tor and i2pd (I2P Daemon) (PurpleI2P) to achieve maximum security, privacy and comfortable use of the…
  • IronFox - IronFox is a fork of DivestOS's Mull Browser based on Firefox.
  • Mozilla Firefox - Open-source browser with Gecko engine, supporting HTML add-ons and providing privacy features like Enhanced Tracking Protection and third-p…
  • Mullvad Browser - Mullvad Browser is a privacy-focused web browser developed in collaboration between Mullvad VPN and the Tor Project.

Checked 23 days ago - source: AlternativeTo

Common questions

What does the automated Linux installer do?

It downloads and builds the source, creates a nologin user, installs the service file, and starts the service.

Does a Snowflake proxy directly proxy users’ website traffic?

It only provides a connection to a Tor entry node, after which normal onion routing applies.

What happens if a censor blocks my Snowflake proxy IP?

The censored user can request a new Snowflake and connect again to the Tor network.

What throughput have users reported from Dockerized Snowflake proxies?

One forum user reports running about 30 Docker containers, with each proxy getting about 360–400 connections per hour and relaying an average of 1GB per hour.

Is there a standalone Snowflake setup guide?

Tor Project has a guide for setting up a standalone Snowflake proxy to help censored users connect to Tor.

Answers sourced from community.torproject.org, forum.torproject.org, www.reddit.com, www.reddit.com, www.reddit.com

Community

Collected yesterday - public community threads